Niecy Nash opened up about her divorce last week at the Essence Black Women In Hollywood event. Niecy has had an eight year marriage with husband Jay Tucker, who is an engineer. The Emmy-nominated “Claws” star urged women to put themselves first in an unhappy marriage.
In her emotional speech, Nash explained to the women gathered for the Beverly Wilshire luncheon why her family wasn’t exactly supportive of her ending the marriage, Page Six reports.
“There was a huge myth that I inherited from the women in my family which is, ‘You are nothing without a man. Get one, keep one, no matter what — blind, cripple, crazy, married or lazy — get one, baby girl, because they will validate you!’”
She then said of her marriage to Tucker, “When I owned we were better friends than life partners, my family was quick to say, ‘But you all look so good together.’” And, “‘Well, if the man ain’t beating you, what you leaving for?’”
“The one that made me laugh the most was an ode to him being attractive. [They said,] ‘Well, you never had to put a sack on his head to sleep with him.’”
“And I replied, ‘What about my happiness?’ The untethering from my family’s beliefs, the internet’s expectations and my marriage ending caused me so much pain.”
